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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Unforeseen benefit of contraception

AMANDA MARCOTTE

Posted: 07/10/2012 10:59:54 PM PDT

Updated: 07/10/2012 10:59:54 PM PDT

New research from Johns Hopkins released this week suggests one of the most effective ways we have to lower the maternal mortality rate would be simply to meet the unmet demand for contraception in developing countries, a move that researchers say could reduce the maternal mortality rate by as much as one-third.

Public health researchers have been offering this as a solution for a long time, but unfortunately, the power of the anti-choice movement in the United States and of the Catholic Church slows down implementation of programs that could help meet demand. The pressure from anti-choice factions kept Melinda Gates from admitting in public for a long time what should be obvious: When women who want contraception can't get it, bad things happen.

Hopefully, the new research will help trump the unevidenced hand-wringing from people who continue to believe that there is a chance to convince people worldwide to just stop having sex.

Most people, when you point out that contraception access reduces maternal mortality, respond with "no, duh." You can't have a maternal mortality if there wasn't a pregnancy in the first place. Reducing the number of pregnancies reduces the number of maternal mortalities.

But this formulation carries with it some uncomfortable implications, as if public health people are treating pregnancy as a problem. Which, in turn, gives credence to anti-choice arguments that pro-choicers think pregnancy is a disease. (We don't.)

Which is

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why it is important to understand this isn't about reducing the number of pregnancies in an absolute sense, but targeting pregnancies that women would usually prefer to prevent if they have the choice.

Whether a pregnancy is intended has a tremendous impact on the odds that it's going to be fatal. This means that even if the absolute number of pregnancies remained stable but the percentage of them that were unintended went down, you'd still see a substantial reduction in maternal mortalities.

Sabrina Tavernise at The New York Times explains: Birth control reduces health risks, the researchers said, by delaying first pregnancies, which carry higher risks in very young women; cutting down on unsafe abortions, which account for 13 percent of all maternal deaths in developing countries; and controlling dangers associated with pregnancies that are too closely spaced.

There are other ways to reduce the risks, of course. Legalizing abortion goes a long way to reducing the maternal mortality rate from unsafe abortion. Bringing an end to child marriage would go a long way to reducing the mortalities from women who simply give birth too young. But while these steps would do a lot of good, they would work even better in conjunction with providing contraception to women who want it but can't get it.

Realistically speaking, getting contraception to needy women is going to move a lot faster than ending child marriage or having safe, legal abortion available to every woman in the world.

Marcotte is a journalist, opinion writer and author of two books on progressive politics.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

God particle 'may not have been found'

Melbourne: Barely a week after scientists from the world’s most expensive experiment announced what they claim was the discovery of the Higgs Boson, a group of doubting scientists has claimed that it was not the “God particle” but just a naughty little anomaly.

According to the Mail Online, Scientists at Cornell University have cast doubts on what it was the CERN Large Hadron Collider actually saw and raising questions about whether enough data has been collected to make an accurate call.

The Higgs-heretics point out that holes in the data so far collected allow other interpretations to also “fit”, News.com.au reported.

One of the main points for their disbelief is that while the new particle has so far behaved like the long-sought Higgs-boson, it was also much lighter than expected.

According to them, this opens up the possibility of a pantheon of Higgs-boson-like particles.

This would help explain other mysteries, such as the elusive “dark matter” which is thought to make up more than a quarter of the universe.

Are men attracted to powerful women?

A study has found that men find less powerful women, more attractive. Men in Mumbai, however disagree, finds Debarati S Sen.

Do men prefer women who are less powerful than them? A study finds that they do but our celebs don't think that way. Most men believe that a powerful woman is always attractive. Read on to find some interesting opinions...

Jackie ShroffI have a mother, wife and daughter and I know that women are powerful. There is nothing like 'less powerful women'...Period.

Milind Soman

Powerful men are attracted to powerful women. The less powerful women are more attractive to less powerful men.

Power is a natural aphrodisiac and it is natural to be attracted to power but men who are not very powerful and are insecure themselves, get attracted to women who are like that.

Prahlad Kakkar

I think powerful women are very attractive to men but their sense of survival makes the men cautious and they settle for a woman who is less powerful. They do not want to spend their whole life competing with a powerful woman so they go for someone who is not. This decision is a rational one not emotional. Powerful women are more charismatic and men love being around them. Men who are very confident and who are not insecure in any way always want more powerful women as companions.

Arjun Punj

I believe that powerful women are attractive to men. They have a certain standing in the society and when they are out on a date some great conversations can happen. They would be the ones to know about the best wines. And come on who wouldn't be attracted to a Priyanka Gandhi, Sushmita Sen or a Sania Mirza!

Vickram Bawa

Definitely not in my case (laughs). I think mostly all men chase stronger and more powerful women. But more than anything I'd say men are attracted to a beautiful soul.

Manav Gohil

The 'man' is getting more urban /modern. This new version requires of him to let go of the conventional man-woman relationship he had witnessed in his growing years. He seeks, in a companion, an equal, not a meeker partner. Personality, I feel powerful women are more intriguing, more attractive!

Purab Kohli

No I do not believe that less powerful women are attractive. Actually powerful women can be very attractive. But if she is out to prove her power then it is a put off. But in general a stable powerful person is very attractive.

Alexx O'Neil

Not at all! Look at Angelina Jolie and Aishwarya Rai for examples of very powerful women who are yet undoubtedly attractive to men in the West and East respectively. Is there a level of intimidation that men feel when interacting with powerful women- definitely but I don't think that powerfulness diminishes attractiveness though it can certainly make some men insecure? By the way, my wife is far more powerful than I., and I find her extremely attractive!